Pope Benedict XVI has issued a robust call for full religious freedom for the Catholic Church in Indonesia, including the right to proclaim publicly the Good News to all, while urging local Catholics not to take “for granted” their “freedom to live and preach the Gospel.”

The pope met publicly on Friday with a delegation of Indonesian bishops at the end of their ad limina visit to Rome. During the visit, the bishops each met privately with the pontiff as well as other Vatican officials.

In his address to the president of the Indonesian Bishops’ Conference, Monsignor Martinus Dogma Situmorang of Padang, the pope praised Indonesia’s constitution for guaranteeing the “fundamental human right of freedom to practice one’s religion.”

Religious freedom, he said, is not “merely a right to be free from outside constraints” but entitles the faithful to “be authentically and fully Catholic, to practice the faith, to build up the Church and to contribute to the common good, proclaiming the Gospel as Good News for all, and inviting everyone to intimacy with the God of mercy and compassion made manifest in Jesus Christ.”

The pope also encouraged the Church’s “continuing efforts to promote and sustain inter-religious dialogue” in a country “rich in its cultural diversity” and “home to significant numbers of followers of various religious traditions.”

“The people of Indonesia are well-placed to make important contributions to the quest for peace and understanding among the peoples of the world.”

Without referring explicitly to recent anti-Christian violence in the country, the pope told the bishops to urge all Christians to “be agents of peace, perseverance and charity” and to “respond in all situations with forgiveness, mercy and love in truth.”

He said that “common endeavors [to build] society will be of great value when they strengthen friendships and overcome misunderstanding or distrust” and asked the bishops to do “everything possible to ensure that the rights of minorities in your country are respected”, thus furthering “tolerance and mutual harmony.”

In a country formed by countless islands, the Church “is made up of thousands of Christian communities, ‘islands of Christ’s presence’”, he added.